Tim Leeds Havre Daily News tleeds@havredailynews.com
A Rudyard restaurant has reopened with a new face, a new name and new owners, who also plan to open a business in the Sanvik Building where the town’s grocery store closed in 2004. Wi l l and Susan Anderson opened the Dancing Beagle Cafe & Bakery for breakfast and lunch two weeks ago. “On the Hi-Line word travels pretty fast,” Will Anderson said. “We had 90 people the first day and the second day we had 64. We’ve just gone great guns.” The couple moved to Rudyard about threeand- a-half years ago Will is originally from Colorado and Susan is from Washington, D.C. and he also works at Havre Ford, Will said. The Andersons also purchased the Sanvik Building, which had held a mainstay business on the Hi-Line after Ole Sanvik bought it about 1928 and opened a store that offered everything from appliances, groceries, propane, drygoods and hardware to a coin-operated laundry. The store dwindled as people moved away, and by the time it closed in 2004 it offered groceries only. The owners, Jack and Jane Rhodes, said they decided to close the store so they could have more time to spend with their growing family and on their other jobs. Will said he plans to open a commercial kitchen in the buildng, hopefully by the fall of 2008, and that the building may house some other businesses as well. Susan said a commercial kitchen is something the area could definitely use. Many people in the area make products like salsa the Andersons have a certified organic apple orchard in Rudyard and make apple butter but there are no commercial kitchens in the area to make their products to be marketed. Their other business opened two Saturdays ago after a major facelift, with a new sign, new painting and decorations including artWork by local artists. The Dancing Beagle is now open only for breakfast and lunch its hours are from 6 a. m. to 2 p.m. but Will said he and his wife plan to extend its hours after the new year. The cafe then will be open for dinners on Friday and Saturday, offering Italian cuisine on those nights. “We’ll be open through the day, and lunch, and then open under a little bit of ambience,” Anderson said. “ We’re just trying to bring it up a notch or two.” This is the Andersons first time operating a restaurant, al though Susan has done some catering in the past. “She is also an incredible baker and chef,” Will said. T h e b re a k fa s t menu includes traditional favorites, from eggs Benedict to two eggs over-easy and blueberry pancakes, and the Hi-Line Scrambler: hash browns topped with mixed vegetables and eggs on the side. The lunch menu also offers a variety, including buffalo burgers and what is becoming a quite popular item: sweet potato fries, Will said. “We’re kind of known for our desserts,” he said, adding that another popular item is the cafe’s “sinnamon rolls.” “They’ve be en ge t t ing around pretty well,” Will said. He said as the business at the cafe progresses, Will and Susan Anderson may make some other changes and additions. “Any time you open a new business you have to make some course correct ions, ” Will said. “If you’re doing something wrong, fix it, and i f you’re doing something right strengthen it.”
